Bali bombing planner jailed for life

An Afghan-trained militant who tearfully apologised to relatives during his trial was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for helping plan and finance the Bali bombings which killed 202 people including 28 Britons.

An Afghan-trained militant who tearfully apologised to relatives during his trial was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for helping plan and finance the Bali bombings which killed 202 people.

Mubarok, a 34-year-old Indonesian, was found guilty of attending planning meetings for the October 12, 2002 blasts and using his bank account to deposit money that was later used to buy chemicals and the minivan for the attack.

Mubarok, whose real name is Hutumo Pamungkas, “has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of planning to commit the terror action”, said presiding judge I Nengah Suryada.

The defendant faced a possible death sentence but was given life imprisonment because of his confession and remorse, the judge said. His lawyers said the defence has not yet decided whether to appeal the sentence.

Mubarok, like many of the key defendants, learned bomb making and weapons handling in Afghanistan and later helped train fellow terrorists in camps in the Philippines.

But unlike several of the defendants who declared the attack was justified to avenge the suffering of Muslims, Mubarok expressed regret over it.

At one point during the trial, a sobbing Mubarok told the court: “I feel so sorry for what I’ve done. I hope the families can forgive me.”

About 10 relatives and friends of victims were in the courtroom. One shouted “thank you!” to the five-judge panel after the verdict was read.

Mubarok slumped in his chair during the reading of the verdict and said nothing as he was led out of the courtroom.

Indonesian courts have handed down three death sentences and two life terms, including Mubarok’s, for the Bali blasts. More than three dozen suspects have been arrested, with 28 convictions so far.

The latest verdict came on the same day that Australian Prime Minister John Howard inaugurated a memorial at the nation’s Parliament in Canberra to the 91 Australian citizens and residents killed in the bombings.

The blasts – the deadliest terrorist attack since September 11, 2001 - catapulted Indonesia into the front lines of the international war on terror and severely damaged Bali’s tourism-dependent economy.

Authorities have blamed the al-Qaida-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah for the attack as well as the August 5 bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people.